" 'Now will I question Cassio of Bianca,/A housewife that be selling her desires/ Buys herself bread and clothes. It is a creature/ That dotes on Cassio, as 'tis the strumpet's plague/ To beguile many and be beguiled by one./ He, when he hears of her, cannot refrain/ From the excess of laughter. Here he comes. ' " IV. i. v91-97.
Something I noticed while watching the movie of this play in class is that Iago is very fond of staring at the camera and making speeches. This made me read the parts of the play where these speeches were written a little more. Before I had seen Iago staring into the camera and talking to the obvious audience, I had felt like the soliliquies were merely Iago thinking aloud to himself. But now, by seeing the play acted out on a cinematic stage, I can tell that the speeches were written for a different reason. I can tell that Shakespeare envisions the action he writes about on a stage. He empathizes with what the audience can see and understand by the dialogue alone, and adds in exposition where it is necessary to make the audience gets the full effect of what was happening. The above quote is one of the best instances of this happening. If this exposition was not included, I would have had no idea what was going on or how it contributed to Othello's manipulation.
The use of exposition is intended for the audience and their complete understanding of what is happening. Whether this be a close up camera shot of Iago on camera, or a soliloquy on stage, the exposition of Shakespeare shows how well he understood the business of play writing for an audience.
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